Rubbermaid Mixing Pitcher for Lye

[GrandmaArial]

Hubby had to run to wally world and brought me home a new pitcher he thought would be perfect for lye. I think he may be right. It’s the Rubbermaid mixing pitcher. I was really shy of using it… was worried the lye would set at the bottom and get hard before I could get it stirred up… but it works great. Added the lye slowly to the water put the lid on and “plunged” it a few times… instantly mixed it up with a lot less fuss, fumes and risk of splashing than stirring it with a spoon. The only thing I don’t like is the lid doesn’t lock so I have a piece of duct tape strapped across the top.

[CareBear]

Sounds neat. But use care taking the mixer out! And even if the lye forms a brick in the bottom it WILL dissolve - if it forms that brick just break it up with a spoon to move things along.

[GrandmaArial]

It worked great. I pulled the lid up just enough to cock in at the top and ran cold water from the faucet in it til it over flowed for a couple minutes just like I did with the regular pitcher. I really recomend this pitcher for lye, maybe it was only preception but it seems safer to me than a plain pitcher, far less fumes and no risk of splashing.

[Soapmaker Man]

Sounds like a good ideal. I use an old HDPE "Whisk" laundry detergent bottle for my premix oils and a Clorox bottle with the built in pour spout and cap for my premixed lye solution. I can use a plastic funnel and pour my lye in and weigh it out then pour my liquid in and weigh it out too. I like using aloe vera juice to make up my premix lye solution with. Anyway, the bottles are free and work great for this! I can shake up my oils and lye solution and it just runs back down into the bottle. I just make sure the big caps are screwed on tightly first.

Paul....

[GrandmaArial]

I am not nearly experenced enough yet to think about trying premixed lye or oils, but it does sound like good advice.

I was thinking about useing a 40 oz Tide bottle for the lye but was worried about getting the lye in safely, the way the pour spout is doesn't leave much room to manuver, and how to mix it. Seems just shakeing as it's heating up could be risky, possably put to much pressure on the bottle as the liquid expands.

[Soapmaker Man]

I am not nearly experenced enough yet to think about trying premixed lye or oils, but it does sound like good advice.

I was thinking about useing a 40 oz Tide bottle for the lye but was worried about getting the lye in safely, the way the pour spout is doesn't leave much room to manuver, and how to mix it. Seems just shakeing as it's heating up could be risky, possably put to much pressure on the bottle as the liquid expands.

Yea, I only mix up about a quart or so of 50% lye solution at a time in my plastic bottles. I let it cool for a while then shake it up, but only about 1/3 full. It's worked well for about a year now.

Paul....

[GrandmaArial]

Yea, I only mix up about a quart or so of 50% lye solution at a time in my plastic bottles. I let it cool for a while then shake it up, but only about 1/3 full. It's worked well for about a year now.

Paul....

Ok… your 50% lye solution = 1 part lye (by weight) to 2 parts water… I am correct in this assumption? It doesnt turn into a rock you have to break apart with a spoon? And if so how do you get a spoon in there?

So… what formula do you use to calculate how much solution to use?

And... how do you get the lye in the bottle safely? I am afraid I'll spill it trying to pour it in that small hole and funnels are unstable unless they are being held (and both my hands are on the lye cup when I pour my lye into the water).

I should note I had to clean up a quart of simple sugar syrup this morning when I was useing a funnel to fill the hummingbird feeder (I think I'm funnel impared) and as messy as it was to clean up... well... I dont want to think about what a quart of lye would be like.

Be patient with me, remember... I'm still new to this.

[jbren]

GrandmaArial, have you discounted water yet? It's not something I tried until I had some experience for many reasons.

A 50% solution is 1 part water to 1 part lye. I mostly use a 33% solution which is 2 parts water to 1 part lye, but even that I don't use with all recipes.

I have a great link for reading up on water discounting if you are interested. Just PM me.

As far as the mixing container for master-batches of lye...I prefer a Sterlite pitcher, which can be bought at the supermarket, walmart or stores of that type. You are better off using something with a larger top that comes off easily so that you can stir your lye as you are pouring it in to your water, and also something that you can see through so you can make sure all your lye is mixed properly. I'd be pretty wary of just shaking it up in a jug.

If it's not mixed properly, you'll wind up with anything from soft batches to lye heavy batches. Lye needs to be added slowly and stirred, then stirred some more until the solution is clear.

Lye is too dangerous a chemical to play with. Be safe...please.

[eugenia]

I agree with Jbren, I'd stick with individual lye batches for now. Unless you are making tons of soap, no need to pre-mix vast quantities of lye solution.

e

[GrandmaArial]

No, I know I'm not ready to try discounting water... though i think I would try if I were useing a very wet additive, but not as much as I would calculate the additive to contain. I think I would rather have a wet bar of new soap than a dry bar. That was why I asked Paul how he calculates his lye water. A 50% lye to water solution will not translate to a 40% water to fat ratio. How would I calculate how much lye water and how much water to add to work for the total I need for my recipe?

I like the idea of having the lye water in a container that I can tightly close... to ensure the cat can't knock it over, or simply to be able to safely put it aside if I have to stop and run after I've mixed the lye water. (I had to dump one bach of lye water because of this). Room Temp CP is a bit better, I can put it in the refrigerator if I need to leave the room but no way I'll leave the house with it sitting in there. I'm to paranoid of lye to do risk that. I like the mixing picher I talk about in the begaining of this thread because it lessens the chances of splashing, but pitcher lids may be snug but can't be tightly attached. If knocked over they will leak. So this is not a matter of looking for shortcuts or discounts, but simply looking for the safest possable vessel for lye water.

[jbren]

I can understand your worries about it tipping over and spilling. I took a picture of the one I'm using right now. It's a half-gallon, the lid is tight fitting and the green thing on the top is the thing that opens it to pour..and you have to press it pretty hard to open it.

Now if you are using a 33% solution, 1 part lye, 2 parts water, and your recipe calls for say 5 oz. of lye, you would use 15oz of your pre-made 33% solution, which is 5 oz lye, 10 oz water. Just multiply your lye amount by 3.

[GrandmaArial]

I can understand your worries about it tipping over and spilling. I took a picture of the one I'm using right now. It's a half-gallon, the lid is tight fitting and the green thing on the top is the thing that opens it to pour..and you have to press it pretty hard to open it.

Now if you are using a 33% solution, 1 part lye, 2 parts water, and your recipe calls for say 5 oz. of lye, you would use 15oz of your pre-made 33% solution, which is 5 oz lye, 10 oz water. Just multiply your lye amount by 3.

Well... DUH! Thank you, I should have known the pecentages. Mr. Anderson (Chem 101) must be rolling over in his grave. If the water is more i can just add it to the solution. Now I know!

Don't know how this got here... the full post is below. All i can think is the cat was playing on the keyboard (again) while I had the dogs out. How do you delete a post here?

[GrandmaArial]

I can understand your worries about it tipping over and spilling. I took a picture of the one I'm using right now. It's a half-gallon, the lid is tight fitting and the green thing on the top is the thing that opens it to pour..and you have to press it pretty hard to open it.

Now if you are using a 33% solution, 1 part lye, 2 parts water, and your recipe calls for say 5 oz. of lye, you would use 15oz of your pre-made 33% solution, which is 5 oz lye, 10 oz water. Just multiply your lye amount by 3.

Well... DUH! Thank you, I should have known the pecentages. Mr. Anderson (Chem 101) must be rolling over in his grave. If the water is more I can just add it to the solution. Now I know!

And thank you for the advice ont he pitcher. It's large enough that the small amount of lye water I make at a time shouldn't splash. I looked at one like that when I started but wasn't sure the gasket would hold up to lye. If you're useing one it must be ok. I will look for it again next shopping trip... won't have time for more than 1 more batch before the grand daughters get here on friday, so I'm not going to worry about it to much today (no, we won't be makeing soap while children are in the house... no way, we will be sticking to M&P for their visit).

euginia, I agree, I'm not ready to be makeing large batches of lye water. My questions about calculating were no more than curiosity. Yes, I know... curiosity killed the cat... but satisfaction brought him back. Though I admit the idea of being able to go in and make a batch of soap with out the 3 hour wait for it to cool would be nice... My "me" time tends to be stolen... an hour here, and hour there if I'm lucky. Seems every time I want to make soap the phone rings... someone needing something RIGHT NOW! Maybe sometime in the future...

[jbren]

You are quite welcome...you also have a PM with some additional info and links for you! Happy Reading!

Also, just an FYI...even though you would be using a cool lye solution, your soap is still going to heat up when the lye does it's 'thing' so you are not saving any time that way. It will, however, take less time for the water to evaporate from your finished soap, but you should still give it a sufficient 'cure' time.

[GrandmaArial]

Thank you very much! The time I want to save is between the time I start makeing soap and when I tuck the soap into bed for the night. After that I dont worry about it, even if the cat decides to mess with it, it will be irritating but won't kill him. He's not stupid... he will leave once he figures out it's not nice. I have done 2 batches useing euginias room temp directions, and yes, I see it still gets very warm. I won't be discounting for quite awhile, it's just tempting.

Thank you again for your help.

[Soapmaker Man]

No, I know I'm not ready to try discounting water... though i think I would try if I were useing a very wet additive, but not as much as I would calculate the additive to contain. I think I would rather have a wet bar of new soap than a dry bar. That was why I asked Paul how he calculates his lye water. A 50% lye to water solution will not translate to a 40% water to fat ratio. How would I calculate how much lye water and how much water to add to work for the total I need for my recipe?

I like the idea of having the lye water in a container that I can tightly close... to ensure the cat can't knock it over, or simply to be able to safely put it aside if I have to stop and run after I've mixed the lye water. (I had to dump one bach of lye water because of this). Room Temp CP is a bit better, I can put it in the refrigerator if I need to leave the room but no way I'll leave the house with it sitting in there. I'm to paranoid of lye to do risk that. I like the mixing picher I talk about in the begaining of this thread because it lessens the chances of splashing, but pitcher lids may be snug but can't be tightly attached. If knocked over they will leak. So this is not a matter of looking for shortcuts or discounts, but simply looking for the safest possable vessel for lye water.

I'm sorry Grandma if I confused you. My bad! I do not use a 50% lye solution in my batch of soap, never have, never will. My recipes range from 28 to 33% lye solutions. I add very cold farm fresh goat milk to my batter to bring down my lye percentage to the 28 to 33% range. A 50% lye solution used straight in a batch is considered "unsafe." Anything over a 40% lye solution is considered an "unsafe" standard as far as that goes. That is what most online calcs. will show. Yes, like Jbren mentioned, a 50% lye solution is 50%, by weight lye, and 50% liquids by weight, as a 33% is 2 parts liquids to 1 part lye, or a 25% solution is 4 parts liquids to 1 part lye. The amount of lye needed to saponify a batch is a set number; (x) ounces of oils to (x) ounces amount of lye to saponify the acids in the oils with the base. The water or other liquids act as a aid to safely incorporate the lye into the chemical process of saponification. You can use a 25% lye concentration, or a 40% lye concentration, all the difference is the amount of water or liquids used and curing time.

I hope this sound OK and makes since. For now, if you want to premix, I'd stay with a 30 to 33% lye saturation.

Like I mentioned above, a 50% solution is "unsafe" to use by itself, in a batter. I add very cold goat milk to my batter to bring my lye concentration down upon emulsification, to between 29 to 33%. I have never went above 35% lye solution in a recipe (discounted liquids).

Paul....

[GrandmaArial]

Thank you paul. I thought it was something like that... but turned into my 13 yr old granddaughter and went bank on percentages there fora moment. I won't be discounting water for quite awhile... its just tempting... but i know I need more practice before I try that. I did want to understand the theory behind it, bt I'm always curious...like a kid ... always with the "whys"...

I thank you too for the sugestions and explinations. Thank you much for your time and effort.

[Soapmaker Man]

Thank you paul. I thought it was something like that... but turned into my 13 yr old granddaughter and went bank on percentages there fora moment. I won't be discounting water for quite awhile... its just tempting... but i know I need more practice before I try that. I did want to understand the theory behind it, bt I'm always curious...like a kid ... always with the "whys"...

I thank you too for the sugestions and explinations. Thank you much for your time and effort.

No problem, ma'am! We have all been where you are and I still learn new things all the time. I still look to more experiences soapiers and still the same "why" questions too! I just hope I was not too confusing for you. Thanks!:highfive:

Paul....

[Sara]

Totally getting my interest stirred (pun intended) on the pre-mix lye. Although I still shudder at the thought of having it around like that, but still the ease of making some master batches of soap w/ some pre-mixed lye sounds nice.